Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 6

Melany - Thursday, July 11th, 2019; 6:30am

     The alarm clock on my bedside table rang shrilly, pulling me out of my dream. I sighed shakily, grateful to be awake. That small moment that had repeated in my mind countless times in my sleep was oddly familiar. It had been more like a memory, and it brought other ones uncomfortably close to the surface of my thoughts.
     I pleaded silently for today to be nowhere near as overwhelming as the day before as I got dressed for my first day at school. I felt hopeless and unprepared heading for the door with empty hands. What could today possibly bring? I wondered as I recited my schedule over and over again in my mind.
     Xantara was in the hallway with a laptop cradled to her chest. She seemed to be waiting for me, for she nodded her head in a greeting and took a hesitant step forward when she saw me. My heart began racing the moment that our eyes met. Thoughts of her and the group she appeared to hang with flooded my head, about their mystery and the bracelets that linked them together... What they surely assumed linked me to them as well. Even in the dull orange glow coming from the few ancient lights hanging above us, I noticed she had gotten even paler since last night. She smiled nervously, studying me through narrowed eyes that looked black in the gloom of the hall. I recalled our conversation from the night before, remembering the look on her face when she asked me, "Do I scare you?". Many implications of that simple question flashed by in my head, making me feel sick. She appeared to be expecting something from me - standing still as a statue, her head tilted curiously and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. I thought maybe I could even see a bit of fear in her cautious expression.
I shoved the chaos of yesterday further into my vault of forgotten memories. "Good morning." I forced a smile before locking my door and slipping the keys into my pocket.
She exhaled heavily, like she had been holding her breath. I hadn't noticed how tense she had been until she relaxed, her shoulders dropping and her hands unfurling like blooming flowers, exposing the crescents indented into the skin of her palms from her fingernails. "Good morning, Melany. Was the rest of your night alright?"
The pain that had consumed my mind, the time that had passed by unknowingly to me, as well as that strange dream resurfaced in a series of images that left me light-headed. I could not even remember how bad that agony had really felt. The night had already become blurry. But, the simple reminder of its existence made my whole body quiver in revulsion.
I managed to swallow the bile in my throat and nod.
A moment of silence passed before Xantara spoke again. "I thought maybe I could get you to class, since, you know... You don't really know your way around. Where are you supposed to go first?"
"Psychology," I sighed after a moments hesitation. I had almost been done with it before that horrible day had altered my life forever, and I had no desire to repeat that class again, much less alongside a group of people that had done something bad enough to get them here.
She nodded. "Me, too. Usually, you'd go to the library to check out your laptop before class." She talked slowly, taking in my expression almost obsessively. "Our teacher will have yours today, though. And once school is over, we bring the laptops back." She began walking towards the door that led outside. "We should go."
I followed her to the end of the hall, which was draped in shadow. I walked slow, dragging my feet. My body was sore, as if I had run a marathon during the night, but my thoughts formed and got buried under new ones faster than I could comprehend.
Outside, the early morning light was muffled by gray clouds, but it still took a moment for my eyes to adjust to how bright it was compared to the dim old lights in the building. The air was humid, making it hard to breathe, and it weighed heavily on my shoulders. I trailed behind Xantara, who avoided the groups of other students like it had become a sport to her, ducking her head to ignore the stares most of them would give us. She led me in between the dorms, past the office, and towards a small brick building.
Xantara stopped a few feet away from the entrance and turned around to eye me thoughtfully. "Everything okay?" she asked.
For the first time since I could remember, I was nervous about school. I wondered if they would gawk at me as they had Xantara, looking at her like she was a caged lion that could escape at any moment and start attacking. Would they recognize the bulge of my bracelet beneath my sleeve? What would they think of me if they did? How would they treat me? But, despite my worries, I nodded my head.
She gave me a sympathetic glance. "You're going to be fine," she assured. "It's a lot easier than public school, I've heard. You just follow the guide they give you for each class at your own pace. The teachers are just there if you have any questions."
"What about how they think?" I blurted before I knew I was even going to speak at all. "What will they do? When they figure out that I..." I rubbed at my wrist, above the tracking device locked tightly around it. "That I have this."
"Let them judge you. They don't know everything," she said, and her calm tone soothed me and worried me at the same time. Despite her words, and the sincerity on her face, there were still secrets swimming in her eyes. I had no idea who she really was. That brief recognition that sparkled in my mind for an instant when I had first seen her led to nowhere. She was a stranger in a strange place. "Let's go inside. Everyone else is probably in class by now."
I took a deep breath and followed her into the building. Inside was a vestibule with two doors on either side of us. There was a guard leaning against the far wall, watching us warily. He wore a mask like the other guards I had seen thus far. He had a hand resting on the butt of his gun. Xantara dipped her head towards him before opening the door on the left and walking through it, shooting me a comforting smile.
All eyes were on us instantly. The whispering was deafening in the otherwise silent classroom, which held students from various ages, some even looking as young as fourteen. There were smiles and giggles, mostly from the younger ones, but there was also a hint of unease in the atmosphere.
"Hey, who's that?"
"She's with Xan -"
"She's one of them!"
"Probably not."
"Maybe -"
"I bet she is."
"Yeah, sure."
"You never know!"
"Yeah, bet she eats babies, or something."
"Babies?" I exclaimed in quiet amazement.
Though I had mumbled the word under my breath, everyone seemed to hear me and fell silent. Xantara uttered a low chuckle beside me.
My face was hot from embarrassment of how shamelessly they had voiced their judgement. But, I was also baffled. Could they really think I was capable of something like that? Or were they treating it as a joke? The few students I could bring myself to look at flinched away from my gaze.
I would have been offended in any other circumstance; here, though, I'd rather everyone stay away from me than hear that awful taunting wherever I went.
A sort of power pulsed beneath my skin that I tried to ignore. That kind of commanding feeling would also bring that odd darkness. Those shadows.
     "Students, please." A sweet voice came from my right.
    A woman not much older than some of the students in the class was walking towards us. She had been standing behind a desk that was only a few feet away, but I had been so stunned by the students' reactions that I hadn't noticed her until now. She was smiling, her caramel eyes sparkling behind glasses that made them look comically large. Her light brown hair was parted in the middle and framed her young, heart shaped face. The gray uniform she wore didn't look right paired with her bright and friendly expression.
     When she reached us, she handed me the laptop she had been carrying under her arm. "This has your study guides for all your classes. You can sit by Xantara, if you'd like, and she could help get you started. I'm also here if you have any questions." She held out a hand. There was no hesitation in her movement, no judgement in her eyes. I took her hand and her touch was gentle, even comforting. "You can call me Ms. Barlow, or just Madison. Whichever you prefer. It's good to have you, Melany."
     I returned her smile, warmed by her kindness.
     Xantara then led me to a row of empty seats towards the back of the room. She opened her laptop and showed me how to log in and navigate the guides. I listened to her as best as I could, but my focus kept straying to her expression and the chaos of emotions in her eyes when she would glance at me.